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Oiapoque, Brazil, (November 15, 2023): Welcome to the Amazon! In this photo by Specialist Joseph Liggio , U.S. Army PFC Bailey Driskel, a combat engineer assigned to Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), applies camouflage face paint during the final movement of Exercise Southern Vanguard 24. Exercise Southern Vanguard 24 is an annual exercise sponsored by the U.S. Southern Command, responsible for Central and South America, to improve coordination between allied forces. The event allows a select few U.S. Army Soldiers a chance to train with some of best warfighters in the world in the most challenging environments. Brazil is an enormous country, with a land mass only slightly smaller than the continental U.S., with a landscape ranging from the Amazon, the world’s largest jungle, to dry grasslands, rugged hills, and miles of seashore.
Brazil's armed forces are the second largest in the Americas, after the United States, and the largest in Latin America. They currently have 334,500 active-duty troops including 15,000 special troops of the Brazilian Army Readiness Forces who are ready for combat 365 days per year. This division is composed of paratroopers along with armored cavalry brigades that have conventional combat capability.
The 1,300 or so Americans joined their 1,000 Brazilian Army comrades of the 52nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Brigade in conducting air assault operations, urban maneuver, weapons familiarization, and a brutal jungle familiarization course. The joint forces conducted an air assault followed by practice infiltrating hostile territory to combat irregular forces.
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Red Sea. (November 23, 2023): According to the U.S. Central Command, the USS Thomas Hudner and crew shot down multiple attack drones launched from by Iranian-backed Houthi Rebels from Yemen while on patrol this week.
It appears they have picked the wrong fight this time.
In this photo by MC2 Jordan Klineizquierdo, Lieutenant Jr. Grade Caitlyn Thomas, left, and Lieutenant Jr. Grade Michaela Mosley along with Lieutenant Jr. Grade Branson Bitzer stand watch on the bridge aboard the USS Thomas Hudner on patrol in the Red Sea.
On October 8th, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin directed the Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier group, including the Hudner, Carney, and Roosevelt destroyers into the Mediterranean, a day after the Hamas attacks on Israel. Since then, the Hudner has shot down two sets of drones fired at Israel from Houthi controlled territory in Yemen. The ship and crew sustained no damage or injury, according to the U.S. Central Command. The Houthis have declared their support for Iranian ally Hamas and have also seized a ship purportedly owned by Israeli interests and is holding its crew hostage.
Commissioned in 1 2018, the USS Thomas Hudner is more than a match for whatever the Iranians and their Houthi friends have in mind. With a crew complement of 380 officers and enlisted, the Hudner bristles with the world’s most sophisticated and deadly weaponry. An Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, the ship can fire Tomahawk cruise missiles and the Phalanx and MK series of large caliber anti-aircraft guns and surface to air missiles. The ship has a heliport for its two MH-60R Seahawk helicopters used to conduct armed boardings at sea.
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Washington, D.C. (November 24, 2023): In this photo by Staff Sergeant Warren Smith, Jack Lowe shows off his Eagle Globe and Anchor signifying his becoming an “Honorary Marine”, an honor he earned for his remarkable resilience. The award recognizes his ongoing fight with Ewing Sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer, and his extraordinary courage and determination. Mr. Lowe has a long familial history of military service and always dreamed of serving in the Marine Corps.The Honorary Marine program officially began in 1992 under 30th Commandant of the Marine Corps, General Carl E. Mundy, and only seventy-five individuals have been bestowed the honor in the program’s history. The title “Honorary Marine” creates a special bond between the American people and the Marine Corps by recognizing individuals in the civilian community who have made extraordinary contributions to our nation’s defense.
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Philippine Sea. (November 16, 2023): For centuries, food has been the obsession of Sailors at sea and a major factor affecting morale. In this photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Jonathan Estrada Eguizabal, Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Imani Cothran-Hickman, from Grayson, Georgia, receives a sample of a culinary dish prepared for the final round of a cooking competition on the aft mess decks aboard the U.S. Navy's only forward-deployed aircraft carrier, USS Ronald Reagan.
“How’s the chow?” is a serious question for Sailors and Admirals alike who spend an average of six to eight months a year at sea. The typical U.S. vessel has three messes (or galleys), one for the officers (called the wardroom), another for the senior non-commissioned officers, and a third for lower enlisted personnel.
These dining facilities churn out an astounding 17,000 meals a day to some 5,500 people, around the clock, seven days a week. The one hundred plus cooks and servers, or culinary specialists, ensure the crew’s nutritional needs are met while operating in a high-pressure environment around the clock.
Read more: Culinary Specialists Know The Navy Sails On Its Stomach
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Pacific Ocean. (November 18, 2023): Since the 1950s, the Navy has used catapults to launch aircraft from extremely short distances. In the photo by Seaman Apprentice Joseph M. Paolucci , Aviation Boatswain's Mate (Equipment) 2nd Class Evan Valdes, from Surprise, Arizona, lubricates a catapult aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz while underway in the Pacific.
The catapult is a slot built into the flight deck that is connected to a large piston below. The piston is attached to the nose gear of the aircraft using a wire rope, or bridle which runs along a track. Different means have been used to launch the catapult, from gun powder to air pressure, but nearly all carriers use steam power today. Steam systems, however, are massive, inefficient, and their extreme temperatures threaten crew safety.
The Navy is currently fielding an alternative to steam, an Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System, on the USS Gerald R. Ford, America’s newest and most advanced aircraft carrier. Electromagnetic catapults eliminate the dangers of steam and the need for large boiler rooms aboard ships, freeing up vital space.
The history of these devices’ dates to 1904 when the Wright Brothers used a derrick style catapult to launch man’s earliest successful flights. The first person to catapult from a Navy vessel was Theodore Gordon Ellyson, nicknamed “Spuds,” who was launched from a stationary barge just before World War I.
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Pacific Ocean. (November 15, 2023): Help wanted. Candidate must be willing to redirect 2,300-degree jet aircraft exhaust from a tiny hatch on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier. Oh, and did I mention the dangerous streams of dust and debris carried by the turbulent air that threatens you and your fellow Sailors? In this photo by MC2 Craig Z. Rodarte, Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Equipment) 3rd Class Robert Hill operates the jet blast deflector on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt while underway in the Pacific.
The jet blast deflector is a safety device operated by a Sailor from a hatch on the flight deck at the rear of the aircraft catapults. It is part of the flight deck so planes roll over the hatch on their way to the catapult. When the aircraft clears the hatch, a heavy panel is raised into position behind it. Other planes can then move into position and begin their final preparations safe from the dangerous jet exhaust.